Carbon News | China's Top 500 Enterprises for 2026 Announced; State Grid Corporation Retains the No. 1 Spot

According to The Oregonian’s report on July 20, Intel has notified employees in its Data Center Group of job cuts, though it did not disclose the exact number of positions to be eliminated. In its official statement, Intel stated that this restructuring forms part of the company’s broader strategy “to become a more focused and efficient enterprise,” aiming to ensure the business has “the right roles and skill sets.” It emphasized that the move will not affect product commitments or its technology roadmap. Since 2022, Intel’s global workforce has declined from approximately 132,000 to about 81,000—a reduction of nearly 40%. This downsizing has occurred through two primary avenues: divesting certain business units and directly eliminating tens of thousands of positions worldwide over the past two years. The announcement came just ahead of Intel’s upcoming Q2 earnings release. In Q1, its Data Center Group generated $5.1 billion in sales, representing a 22% year-on-year increase. Meanwhile, Intel’s stock price has surged over the past year—from roughly $23 to approximately $99 in early trading on Monday—reflecting strong investor optimism regarding demand for its AI chips and expansion into foundry services. (Source: The Oregonian) 11 Over 9,000 Positions Open in Massive Recruitment Drive at BYD’s Shen Shan Site Recently, BYD’s manufacturing bases in the Shenshan Special Cooperation Zone of Shenzhen—namely the E’bu Parts Production Base and the Xiaomo Vehicle Assembly Base—jointly launched a large-scale recruitment campaign, offering over 9,000 positions spanning operators, skilled technicians, quality inspectors, and managerial roles. This is the largest social recruitment drive this year at BYD’s Shenshan Automotive Industrial Park. In contrast, only around 2,000 positions were offered during its spring recruitment in March—meaning labor demand has more than quadrupled within four months. The Shenshan facility primarily produces popular mid-to-high-end models such as the Yangtze River Titan 7 (Fangchengbao Titan 7) and export-oriented models including the Song Plus and Song Pro. (Source: Shenzhen Special Zone Daily) 12 EU Proposes Three-Year Waiver of Penalties Under Methane Emission Rules Rather than enacting new binding legislation, the European Commission has issued optional model contractual clauses to assist energy importers in complying with the EU’s methane regulations. On July 20, the Commission proposed a three-year waiver of penalties related to the EU’s methane emission rules. Industry stakeholders and major liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporters have been pressuring the EU to simplify burdensome reporting requirements, warning that such obligations could hinder exports to the bloc. EU member states adopted the methane emission rules in May 2024, establishing the EU’s first measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) framework for methane emissions in the energy sector—aimed at curbing emissions of one of the most potent greenhouse gases. Non-compliance will incur penalties, which are scheduled to take effect starting in 2027. (Source: Euronews) 13 New Large-Scale Hydrogen Production Base Launched in Southwest China According to a report by Caixin Global on July 21, the integrated steel-and-coking clean energy project in Liupanshui City, Guizhou Province—developed by CIMC—has officially commenced operations and achieved stable production, becoming a pivotal hydrogen supply node along the “Chongqing–Guizhou–Guangxi” hydrogen corridor. This newly operational project represents one of the largest industrial waste-gas-to-hydrogen demonstration initiatives—and resource-recycling projects—in Southwest China. Historically, coke oven gas generated during iron and steel or coking production was often simply burned for power generation, resulting in low resource utilization and significant energy waste.

EU Introduces Major Overhaul of Import Methane Emission Standards!

This means that if methane leaks into the atmosphere from oil and natural gas pipelines or infrastructure, it will exacerbate global warming. To address this, the EU’s new regulation introduces fresh requirements for measuring, reporting, and verifying methane emissions across the energy sector. According to reports, the new regulation mandates that Europe’s natural gas, oil, and coal industries measure, monitor, report, and verify their methane emissions according to the highest monitoring standards—and take concrete action to reduce those emissions. The regulation also requires EU fossil fuel operators to eliminate avoidable routine flaring and to minimize flaring and emissions arising from emergencies, technical failures, or safety-related incidents. Moreover, given that a substantial portion of Europe’s fossil fuel consumption relies on imports, the regulation will progressively introduce stricter requirements to ensure foreign exporters gradually assume the same monitoring, reporting, and verification obligations as EU-based operators. In addition, the new rules require establishing a “Global Methane Emission Source Monitoring Tool,” leveraging satellite data to provide information on the scale, frequency, and location of high-methane-emission sources both inside and outside the EU. The European Commission will also establish a rapid alert mechanism for “super-emitter” events—i.e., incidents involving extremely high methane emission rates from facilities, equipment, or infrastructure—to enable prompt intervention and prevention. Specifically, starting in 2025, EU importers must report annual methane emission data—including country- and company-level data for all energy exported to the EU—with information on whether and how they measure, report, and mitigate methane emissions. Beginning January 2027, new import contracts for oil, natural gas, and coal may only be signed if exporting energy companies bear the same MRV obligations as EU producers. From 2030 onward, the “methane intensity” of oil, natural gas, and coal imported into the EU market must remain below a cap value, which the European Commission will define later via secondary legislation.

EU Grants Exporters Extra Year for Methane Compliance

1 day ago

The EU will grant exporters an additional year to comply with new methane regulations amid high energy costs. Commission President von der Leyen emphasized cost relief measures for businesses and refineries.

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2026-04-29

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EU Grants Exporters Extra Year for Methane Compliance

EU Grants Exporters Extra Year for Methane Compliance

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